Related provisions for PRIN 3.1.5
61 - 80 of 298 items.
A UK firm cannot establish a branch in another EEA State for the first time under an EEA right unless the conditions in paragraphs 19(2), (4) and (5) of Part III of Schedule 3 to the Act are satisfied. It is an offence for a UK firm which is not an authorised person to contravene this prohibition (paragraph 21 of Part III of Schedule 3 to the Act). These conditions are that:(1) the UKfirm has given the FSA, in accordance with the FSArules (see SUP 13.5.1 R), notice of its intention
(1) If the FSA proposes to refuse to give a consent notice, then paragraph 19(8) of Part III of Schedule 3 to the Act requires the FSA to give the UK firm a warning notice.(2) If the FSA decides to refuse to give a consent notice, then paragraph 19(12) of Part III of Schedule 3 to the Act requires the FSA to give the UK firm a decision notice within three months of the date on which it received the UK firm's notice of intention(two months in the case of a UK firm which is a UCITS
Rights under an agreement for qualifying credit are a controlled investment.Qualifying credit is defined in paragraph 10 of Schedule 1 to the Financial Promotion Order (Controlled activities) as credit provided pursuant to an agreement under which:(1) the lender is a person who carries on the regulated activity of entering into a regulated mortgage contract (whether or not he is an authorised or exempt person under the Act); and(2) the obligation of the borrower to repay is secured
Arranging qualifying credit is a controlled activity under paragraph 10A of Schedule 1 to the Financial Promotion Order; that is, making arrangements:(1) for another person to enter as borrower into an agreement for qualifying credit; or(2) for a borrower under a regulated mortgage contract entered into on or after 31 October 2004 to vary the terms of that contract in such a way as to vary his obligations under that contract.This means that invitations and inducements relating
Advising on qualifying credit will be a controlled activity under paragraph 10B of Schedule 1 to the Financial Promotion Order; that is, advising a person if the advice is:(1) given to the person in his capacity as a borrower or potential borrower; and(2) advice on the merits of his doing any of the following:(a) entering into an agreement for qualifying credit; or(b) varying the terms of a regulated mortgage contract entered into by him on or after 31 October 2004 in such a way
Article 28B (Real time communications: introductions in connection with qualifying credit) exempts a real time financial promotion that relates to one or more of the controlled activities about regulated mortgage contracts. The exemption is subject to the following conditions being satisfied:(1) the financial promotion must be made for the purpose of, or with a view to, introducing the recipient to a person ('N') who is:(a) an authorised person who carries on the controlled activity
Section 21(2) of the Act sets out two circumstances in which a financial promotion will not be caught by the restriction in section 21(1). These are where the communicator is an authorised person or where the content of the financial promotion has been approved for the purposes of section 21 by an authorised person. Where approval is concerned it must be specifically for the purposes of enabling the financial promotion to be communicated by unauthorised persons free of the restriction
Where an authorised person makes a financial promotion, he is not subject to the restriction in section 21. So, the communication of the financial promotion by the authorised person will not be a criminal offence under the provisions of section 25 of the Act (Contravention of section 21) and any resulting contract will not be unenforceable under section 30 of the Act (Enforceability of agreement resulting from unlawful communications). However,COB 3, ICOB 3 or MCOB 3 may apply
An unauthorised person may wish to pass on a financial promotion made to him by an authorised person. In this case, the fact that the financial promotion was made to him by an authorised person will not be enough for the restriction in section 21 not to apply to him. The authorised person must also both have approved its content and have done so for the purpose of section 21 of the Act. If an authorised person wishes to ensure that an unauthorised person can communicate a financial
Sections 87H and 87I of the Act provide:
Prospectus approved in another EEA State |
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87H |
(1) |
A prospectus approved by the competent authority of an EEA State other than the United Kingdom is not an approved prospectus for the purposes of section 85 unless that authority has provided the competent authority with – |
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(a) |
a certificate of approval; |
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(b) |
a copy of the prospectus as approved; and |
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(c) |
if requested by the [FSA], a translation of the summary of the prospectus. |
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(2) |
A document is not a certificate of approval unless it states that the prospectus – |
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(a) |
has been drawn up in accordance with the prospectus directive; and |
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(b) |
has been approved, in accordance with that directive, by the competent authority providing the certificate. |
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(3) |
A document is not a certificate of approval unless it states whether (and, if so, why) the competent authority providing it authorised, in accordance with the prospectus directive, the omission from the prospectus of information which would otherwise have been required to be included. |
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(4) |
“Prospectus” includes a supplementary prospectus. |
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Provision of information to host Member State |
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87I |
(1) |
The [FSA] must, if requested to do so, supply the competent authority of a specified EEA State with – |
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(a) |
a certificate of approval; |
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(b) |
a copy of the specified prospectus (as approved by the [FSA]); and |
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(c) |
a translation of the summary of the specified prospectus (if the request states that one has been requested by the other competent authority). |
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(2) |
Only the following may make a request under this section – |
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(a) |
the issuer of the transferable securities to which the specified prospectus relates; |
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(b) |
a person who wishes to offer the transferable securities to which the specified prospectus relates to the public in an EEA State other than (or as well as) the United Kingdom; |
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(c) |
a person requesting the admission of the transferable securities to which the specified prospectus relates to a regulated market situated or operating in an EEA State other than (or as well as) the United Kingdom. |
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(3) |
A certificate of approval must state that the prospectus – |
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(a) |
has been drawn up in accordance with this Part and the prospectus directive; and |
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(b) |
has been approved, in accordance with those provisions, by the [FSA]. |
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(4) |
A certificate of approval must state whether (and, if so, why) the [FSA] authorised, in accordance with section 87B, the omission from the prospectus of information which would otherwise have been required to be included. |
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(5) |
The [FSA] must comply with a request under this section – |
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(a) |
if the prospectus has been approved before the request is made, within 3 working days beginning with the date of the request; or |
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(b) |
if the request is submitted with an application for the approval of the prospectus, on the first working day after the date on which it approves the prospectus. |
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(6) |
“Prospectus” includes a supplementary prospectus. |
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(7) |
“Specified” means specified in a request made for the purposes of this section. |
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(1) This rule applies to a request by a person to the FSA to supply information referred to in section 87I of the Act to the competent authority of a relevant Host State.(2) The request must be in writing and must include:(a) the relevant prospectus as approved (if it has already been approved); and(b) a translation of the summary if required by the competent authority of a relevant host State.
If the FSA receives information referred to in section 87H from another competent authority it will as soon as practicable:(1) inform the issuer, offeror or person requesting admission (as the case may be) that it has received the information; and(2) give notice on the FSA's website that it has received the information.
A decision to: (1) revoke a recognition order under section 297 of the Act (Revoking recognition); or(2) make a direction under section 296 (FSA's powers to give directions); or(3) refuse to make a recognition order under section 290 (Recognition orders);is a serious one and section 298 of the Act (Directions and revocation: procedure) sets out a procedure (see REC 4.8.9 G) which the FSA will follow unless, in the case of a revocation of a recognition order, the recognised body
In considering whether it would be appropriate to exercise the powers under section 296 or section 297 of the Act, the FSA will have regard to all relevant information and factors including:(1) its guidance to recognised bodies;(2) the results of its routine supervision of the body concerned;(3) the extent to which the failure or likely failure to satisfy the recognition requirements or other obligations in or under the Act may affect the regulatory objectives.
Before exercising its powers under section 296 or section 297 of the Act, the FSA will usually discuss its intention, and the basis for this, with the key individuals or other appropriate representatives of the recognised body. It will usually discuss its intention not to make a recognition order with appropriate representatives of the applicant.
1Sections 87A(2), (3) and (4) of the Act provide for the general contents of a prospectus:
(2) |
The necessary information is the information necessary to enable investors to make an informed assessment of – |
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(a) |
the assets and liabilities, financial position, profits and losses, and prospects of the issuer of the transferable securities and of any guarantor; and |
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(b) |
the rights attaching to the transferable securities. |
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(3) |
The necessary information must be presented in a form which is comprehensible and easy to analyse. |
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(4) |
The necessary information must be prepared having regard to the particular nature of the transferable securities and their . |
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Sections 87A(5) and (6) of the Act set out the requirement for a summary to be included in a prospectus:
(5) |
The prospectus must include a summary (unless the transferable securities in question are ones in relation to which prospectus rules provide that a summary is not required). |
(6) |
The summary must, briefly and in non-technical language, convey the essential characteristics of, and risks associated with, the issuer, any guarantor and the transferable securities to which the prospectus relates. |
The summary must also contain a warning to the effect that:(1) it should be read as an introduction to the prospectus;(2) any decision to invest in the transferable securities should be based on consideration of the prospectus as a whole by the investor; (3) where a claim relating to the information contained in a prospectus is brought before a court, the plaintiff investor might, under the national legislation of the EEA States, have to bear the costs of translating the prospectus
A firm is required to provide the FSA with a wide range of information to enable the FSA to meet its responsibilities for monitoring the firm's compliance with requirements imposed by or under the Act. Some of this information is provided through regular reports, including those set out in SUP 16 (Reporting requirements) and SUP 17 (Transaction reporting). In addition, other chapters in the Handbook set out specific notification and reporting requirements. Principle 11 includes
This chapter sets out:(1) guidance on the type of event or change in condition which a firm should consider notifying in accordance with Principle 11; the purpose of this guidance is to set out examples and not to give comprehensive advice to firms on what they should notify in order to be in compliance with Principle 11;(2) rules on events and changes in condition that a firm must notify; these are the types of event that the FSA must be informed about, usually as soon as possible,
The specified investment category of units in a collective investment scheme includes units in a unit trust scheme, shares in open-ended investment companies and rights in respect of most limited partnerships. Shares in or securities of an open-ended investment company are treated differently from shares in other companies. They are excluded from the specified investment category of shares. This does not mean that they are not investments but simply that they are uniformly treated
There are no exclusions in the Regulated Activities Order for this specified investment category. This is because 'collective investment scheme' is defined in section 235 of the Act (Collective investment schemes) for the purposes of the Act generally. But there is a separate power to provide for exemptions from that definition and the Treasury have exercised it (see the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Collective Investment Schemes) Order 2001 (SI 2001/1062). The result
Under section 23 of the Act (Contravention of the general prohibition), a person commits a criminal offence if he carries on activities in breach of the general prohibition in section 19 of the Act (The general prohibition) (see AUTH 1.2.2 G).. Although a person who commits the criminal offence is subject to a maximum of two years imprisonment and an unlimited fine, it is a defence for a person to show that he took all reasonable precautions and exercised all due diligence to
Another consequence of a breach of the general prohibition is that certain agreements could be unenforceable (see sections 26 to 29 of the Act). This applies to agreements entered into by persons who are in breach of the general prohibition. It also applies to any agreement entered into by an authorised person if the agreement is made as a result of the activities of a person who is in breach of the general prohibition.
Any person who is concerned that his proposed activities may require authorisation will need to consider the following questions (these questions are a summary of the issues to be considered and have been reproduced, in slightly fuller form in the decision tree in PERG 2 Annex 1 G):(1) Will I be carrying on my activities by way of business (see PERG 2.3)?(2) Will I be managing the assets of an occupational pension scheme (see PERG 2.3.2G (3))?(3) If the answer is 'Yes' to (1)
Section 250 of the Act and regulation 7 of the OEIC Regulations allow the FSA to waive the application of certain rules in COLL and CIS to:(1) a person, as respects a particular AUT or ICVC, on the application or with the consent of that person; and(2) an AUT or ICVC on the application or with the consent of the manager and trustee (in the case of an AUT) or the ICVC and its depositary (in the case of an ICVC).2
An overseas recognised body is required to notify the FSA of certain events and give information to it on a regular basis and when certain specified events occur. Section 295 of the Act (Notification: overseas investment exchanges and overseas clearing houses) requires each overseas recognised body to provide the FSA, the Treasury and the Director General of Fair Trading with a report (at least once a year) which contains:(1) a statement as to whether any events have occurred
The period covered by a report submitted under section 295(1) of the Act starts on the day after the period covered by its last report or, if there is no such report, after the making of the recognition order recognising the overseas recognised body as such, and ends on the date specified in the report or, if no date is specified, on the date of the report.
A firm should satisfy itself that the terms of the contract with its appointed representative (including an introducer appointed representative):(1) are designed to enable the firm to comply properly with any limitations or requirements on its own permission;(2) require the appointed representative to cooperate with the FSA as described in SUP 2.3.4 G (Information gathering by the FSA on its own initiative: cooperation by firms) and give access to its premises, as described in
A firm must ensure that its written contract with each of its appointed representatives:4(1) complies with the requirements prescribed in regulation 3 of the Appointed Representatives Regulations (see SUP 12.5.2 G);4(2) requires the appointed representative to comply, and to ensure that any persons who provide services to the appointed representative under a contract of services or a contract for service comply, with the relevant requirements in or under the Act (including the
Breaching Principle 11, or the rules in this chapter, makes a firm liable to regulatory sanctions, including discipline under Part XIV of the Act (Disciplinary Measures), and may be relevant to the use of the FSA's other powers, including the statutory information gathering and investigation powers (see further PRIN 1.1.7 G to PRIN 1.1.9 G). But, unlike a breach of a requirement imposed under the statutory powers listed in SUP 2.1.5 G, a breach of Principle 11 or a rule:(1) is
The FSA would not normally seek to gather information using the methods described in SUP 2.3 or SUP 2.4 in a situation where the FSA could not have obtained it under the powers in Part XI of the Act (Information Gathering and Investigations). In particular, the limitations in the following sections of the Act are relevant to this chapter:(1) section 175(5) (Information and documents: supplementary powers) under which no person may be required under Part XI of the Act (Information
When the FSA obtains confidential information using the methods of information gathering described in SUP 2.3 or SUP 2.4, it is obliged under Part XXIII of the Act (Public Record, Disclosure of Information and Co-operation) to treat that information as confidential. The FSA will not disclose confidential information without lawful authority, for example if an exception applies under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Disclosure of Confidential Information) Regulations
(1) Under section 41(2) of the Act (The threshold conditions), in giving or varying a Part IV permission or imposing or varying any requirement, the FSA must ensure that the firm concerned will satisfy, and continue to satisfy, the threshold conditions in relation to all of the regulated activities for which it has or will have permission.(2) If, however, the applicant for permission is an incoming firm seeking top-up permission, or variation of top-up permission, under Part IV
(1) If, among other things, a firm is failing to satisfy any of the threshold conditions, or is likely to fail to do so, section 45 of the Act (Variation etc. on the FSA's own initiative) states that the FSA may exercise its own-initiative power. Use of the FSA'sown-initiative power is explained in SUP 7 (Individual requirements), ENF 3 (Variation of Part IV permission on the FSA's own initiative) and ENF 5 (Cancellation of Part IV permission on the FSA's own initiative and withdrawal
General guidance on the perimeter is also contained in various FSA documents (mainly fact sheets and frequently asked questions) that are available on the FSA website at www.fsa.gov.uk.These documents, and the URL on which they may be accessed, include:(1) guidance about the position under the Insurance Mediation Directive and the Regulated Activities Order of group risk managers and co-participants in a joint enterprise - http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/doing/info/mgi/topics/risk.shtml;(2)
Any person who, having read relevant general guidance and, where appropriate, taken legal advice, remains uncertain about whether his activities amount to regulated activities or his communications will be subject to the restriction in section 21 of the Act, may seek individual guidance from the FSA. Requests for individual guidance should be made in line with SUP 9.
In addition, the FSA has established a team to provide general assistance and guidance to persons generally about the scope of the Act. Enquiries of this kind may be made:(1) by authorised firms, to either the FirmContact Centre (email fcc@fsa.gov.uk, Tel 0845 606 9966) or their normal supervisory contact; or(2) by individuals or non-authorised firms, to the Consumer Contact Centre (email ccc@fsa.gov.uk, Tel 0845 606 1234) or the Perimeter Enquiries Team (email authorisationenquiries@fsa.gov.uk,
Where, in relation to an offer in the United Kingdom, no prospectus is required under the Act, the issuer and offeror must ensure that material information they provide to qualified investors or special categories of investors, including information disclosed in the context of meetings relating to offers, is disclosed to all qualified investors or special categories of investors to whom the offer is exclusively addressed. [Note: article 15.5 PD]
Threshold condition 2(1) and (2) (Location of offices), implement the requirements of article 6 of the Post BCCI Directive and threshold condition 2(3) and (4) implements article 2.9 of the Insurance Mediation Directive, although the Act extends threshold condition 2 to firms which are outside the scope of the Single Market Directives and the UCITS Directive.1
Neither the Post BCCI Directive, the Insurance Mediation Directive nor the Act define what is meant by a firm's 'head office'. This is not necessarily the firm's place of incorporation or the place where its business is wholly or mainly carried on. Although the FSA will judge each application on a case-by-case basis, the key issue in identifying the head office of a firm is the location of its central management and control, that is, the location of: 1(1) the directors and other
Most of the exclusions under the Directives, however, are not excluded from being regulated activities. For example, article 3 of the Consolidated Life Directive and article 3 of the Non-Life Directive exclude certain mutual associations whose annual contribution income falls below a defined threshold. In the United Kingdom, these include certain smaller friendly societies commonly referred to as "non-directive friendly societies". The activities of such societies are regulated
Under the Act and the Regulated Activities Order, the activities of effecting and carrying out contracts of insurance are treated as being carried on in the United Kingdom on the basis of legal tests under which the location of the risk is only one factor. If the risk is located in the United Kingdom, then (other relevant factors being taken into account) the activity will, in the vast majority of cases, also be viewed as carried on in the United Kingdom. There are exceptions,
So, the effect of App 3.12.1 is that an insurer may be carrying on insurance business in the United Kingdom which is to be treated as a regulated activity under article 10 to the Regulated Activities Order (Effecting and carrying out contracts of insurance) in circumstances where the risks covered are treated as located in another EEA State. In that event, the insurer is required by Schedule 3 to the Act to passport into the State concerned and may be subject to conduct of business
An insurer authorised in another EEA State who is insuring UK risks and so passports on a services basis under the Insurance Directives into the United Kingdom (see ), may not be carrying on a regulated activity in the United Kingdom. But, if it passports into the United Kingdom, it will qualify for authorisation under paragraph 12 of Schedule 3 to the Act (Firms qualifying for authorisation). Where this is the case, the insurer will be subject to conduct of business requirements
If a prospectus relating
to an issuer that has its registered
office in a country that is not an EEA State is
drawn up in accordance with the legislation of that country, the FSA may, if the United
Kingdom is the Home State in
relation to the issuer, approve
the prospectus if it is satisfied
that:(1) the prospectus has
been drawn up in accordance with international standards set by international
securities commission organisations, including the IOSCO disclosure standards;
and(2)